Markets today: Wall Street futures inch higher as investors eye more data, geopolitics

12/17/25 07:37

Hut 8 shares jump as ex-bitcoin miner signs US$7-billion AI data centre lease

– Reuters

Hut 8 (HUT-Q, HUT-T) has signed a deal valued at about US$7-billion to lease a data centre in Louisiana, it said on Wednesday, as former cryptocurrency miners pivot to meet surging demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Its U.S.-listed shares rose 21 per cent in premarket trading, adding to the roughly 80-per-cent jump this year.

The company will sign a 15-year lease agreement to develop a 245-megawatt data centre in the River Bend campus. Construction of the first phase is expected to be completed by early 2027.

The transition from crypto mining to AI hosting has become a key trend for firms like Hut 8, CoreWeave, and Applied Digital that are repurposing their access to high-voltage power, cooling systems and specialized real estate. These assets are increasingly scarce as AI developers race to deploy Nvidia graphics processing units and other essential hardware.

Hut 8, once a pure-play bitcoin miner, has spent the last year repositioning itself as an energy infrastructure platform. It relocated its headquarters from Toronto to Miami after a 2023 merger with U.S. Bitcoin Corp. and operates data centres in both Ontario and British Columbia.

12/17/25 07:18

Limited upside for telcos despite recent volatility

– Scott Barlow

RBC Capital Markets analyst Drew McReynolds attempted to manage expectations for investors in domestic telecoms that are still looking for new revenue streams,

“In our 2025 outlook ‘Lost in Transition’, we expected 2024 revenue headwinds (competition, maturity, substitution, macro) to persist through 2025 making any meaningful Canadian telecom comeback more of a 2026 story. While a new competitive equilibrium post the Rogers-Shaw-Quebecor transactions leaves us more constructive on the sector, until new value propositions emerge and scale to create meaningful new revenue streams, we expect industry revenue growth to remain modest. Our focus is now understanding the size of the prize for investors in 2026, which in a gradual recovery we would characterize as a slight year-over-year step-up in industry revenue growth (from an estimated 1 per cent in 2025 to 2 per cent in 2026), modest consolidated EBITDA margin expansion, easing underlying capex intensity levels (for most operators) and company-specific re-rating potential. We continue to view valuations as reasonable … We believe the relative winners will be the operators that exceed expectations with respect to the controllables – execution on new revenues, EBITDA/FCF margin expansion and balance sheet/crystallization initiatives – resulting in potential multiple expansion. Our Outperform-rated stocks are Rogers, BCE and TELUS”

12/17/25 06:55

Medline set for hotly anticipated debut after 2025’s biggest IPO

– Reuters

Medline will debut on the Nasdaq later on Wednesday after the U.S. medical supply giant raised US$6.26-billion in the biggest global initial public offering of 2025, capping a strong year for new listings and fueling optimism for 2026.

The company, acquired in 2021 by Blackstone, Carlyle and Hellman & Friedman in one of the largest private-equity deals, sold 216 million shares in an upsized offering at US$29 apiece, compared with the marketed range of US$26 and US$30 per share.

U.S. IPO activity has stayed resilient in 2025, shrugging off the impact of market volatility in April, fueled by President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, as well as the longest government shutdown.

Before Medline’s raise, Chinese battery maker CATL’s US$5.3-billion Hong Kong offering in May was the biggest IPO globally this year, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Liquefied natural gas producer Venture Global, Swedish fintech Klarna, cloud-computing firm CoreWeave and stablecoin issuer Circle were among the largest U.S. IPOs of 2025.

Northfield, Illinois-based Medline, which was founded in 1966 by brothers Jon and Jim Mills, is a key manufacturer and distributor of medical supplies such as surgical kits, gloves, and gowns used by hospitals worldwide.

10/28/25 06:53

Wall Street futures inch higher as investors eye more data, geopolitics

– Reuters

U.S. stock index futures inched higher on Wednesday as investors awaited more economic data to gauge the path for monetary policy and monitored geopolitical tensions in Venezuela that sent oil prices higher.

Commentary from a number of influential Federal Reserve officials such as Governor Christopher Waller and New York President John Williams is expected later in the day that could offer more clarity on monetary policy.

U.S. equities had a volatile session on Tuesday, with the benchmark S&P 500 touching a three-week low after a key jobs report failed to offer enough clarity on the health of the labor market and analysts pointed to the likelihood of data distortion due to the recent government shutdown.

Traders held on to expectations for two 25-basis-point rate cuts next year, according to data compiled by LSEG, with the first one expected in June – a month after a new Fed Chair is likely to be appointed.

Reports said that White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett’s candidacy for the role received pushback from those close to U.S. President Donald Trump and the investment community such as JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon and Citadel’s Ken Griffin, given his strong support for interest rate cuts.

“The markets seem to be implying a likely short pause in the cutting cycle from the Fed, which aligns with the guidance the central bank provided last week,” said Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst at Capital.com.

The next significant report will be Thursday’s consumer inflation data by the Commerce Department.

At 5:16 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 107 points, or 0.22 per cent, S&P 500 E-minis were up 23 points, or 0.34 per cent and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 95 points, or 0.38 per cent.

Meanwhile, oil stocks including Halliburton, SLB and Occidental Petroleum rose 1 per cent each in premarket trading, tracking a 2-per-cent climb in crude prices as Trump ordered a “blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela.

Tuesday saw the S&P 500’s energy sector mark its biggest daily drop since early April on prospects that a Russia-Ukraine peace deal was imminent. Both Russia and Venezuela are major oil producers.

12/17/25 06:50

Wednesday’s analyst upgrades and downgrades

– David Leeder

National Bank Financial’s Patrick Kenny expects pipeline and energy infrastructure companies to benefit from a “resurgence in political will surrounding the buildout of traditional energy infrastructure alongside an accelerating Big Data buildout” in 2026.

In a research report titled If you build it, they will come…, the equity analyst introduced his new “AFFO Yield+ Growth” valuation profile “normalizing free cash flow yields for growth profiles” and touting attractive investing opportunities across his coverage universe.

• Companies mentioned include: AltaGas, Atco, Boralex, Brookfield, Brookfield Infrastructure, Canadian Natural Resources, Canadian Utilities, Capital Power, Emera, Enbridge, Enghouse Systems, Fortis, Gibson Energy, Hydro One, Keyera, Mainstreet Equity, Pembina Pipeline, Rockpoint Gas Storage, Shopify, South Bow, Superior Plus, TC Energy
• Read more: Wednesday’s analyst upgrades and downgrades

12/17/25 05:29

Before the Bell: What every Canadian investor needs to know today

– S.R. Slobodian

Global stocks climbed as markets continued to assess U.S. economic data for interest rate policy direction, while a surprise drop in British inflation propelled U.K. stocks amid rate-cut hopes.

Wall Street futures were in positive territory after a mixed close yesterday.

TSX futures followed sentiment higher as oil prices jumped.

On Wall Street, markets are watching earnings from Micron Technology Inc. and General Mills Inc.

“The [U.S. jobs] data was weak, but not weak enough to convince investors to materially change their [U.S. Federal Reserve] bets or meaningfully increase risk exposure,” Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, wrote in a note.

“Attention now turns to Thursday’s U.S. inflation data, the final major input into the Fed’s year-end calculus. Slower inflation would give the Fed more room to manoeuvre. Until then, market conviction is likely to remain contained.”

Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.43 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 1.67 per cent, Germany’s DAX advanced 0.16 per cent and France’s CAC 40 edged up 0.05 per cent.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.26 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.92 per cent.

12/17/25 05:12

Global stocks gain, while oil prices jump as Trump orders a blockade of oil tankers to Venezuela

– The Associated Press

Shares advanced Wednesday in Europe and Asia as strong buying of technology shares helped lift some benchmarks, while the price of U.S. crude briefly surged more than 2 per cent after President Donald Trump ordered a blockade of all “sanctioned oil tankers” into Venezuela.

Trump’s move followed the seizure by U.S. forces last week of an oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast, an unusual move that followed a buildup of military forces in the region as his administration ramps up pressure on the country’s authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro.

The future for the S&P 500 edged 0.1 per cent higher and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was virtually unchanged.

In Germany, the DAX added 0.3 per cent to 24,138.73, while the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.1 per cent to 8,115.18. Britain’s FTSE 100 surged 1.4 per cent to 9,817.65.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.3 per cent to 49,512.28 as traders awaited a decision on an interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan later in the week.

Adding to expectations for a rate hike, Japan reported its exports rose 6 per cent in November from a year earlier, as shipments to the U.S. rose for the first time since March. A trade deal with the Trump administration that set tariffs on imports from Japan at a baseline rate of 15 per cent, down from the initial plan for a 25 per cent helped boost exports of cars and chemicals, among other key manufactured goods.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 0.9 per cent to 25,468.78, while the Shanghai Composite index jumped 1.2 per cent to 3,870.28.

12/17/25 04:30

Tuesday markets recap: TSX falls to one-week low as oil prices slide

– Reuters, Globe staff

Canada’s main stock index fell for the third straight session on Tuesday as energy stocks followed oil prices lower and investors locked in profits heading toward the end of the year.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index ended down 219.51 points, or 0.7 per cent, at 31,263.93, its lowest closing level since last Tuesday.

The Toronto market’s energy sector lost 3.7 per cent as oil settled 2.7 per cent lower at US$55.27 a barrel. Prospects of a Russia-Ukraine peace deal appeared to strengthen, raising expectations that sanctions could be eased.

Technology was down 0.9 per cent and the materials group, which includes metal mining shares, ended 0.6 per cent lower.

Health care was among the sectors that notched gains, rising 6.7 per cent, as the potential for a U.S. executive order that would reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug boosted cannabis stocks. Curaleaf Holdings Inc. CURA-T shares jumped 23.4 per cent to their highest closing level since May, 2024.

NFI Group Inc. NFI-T was another standout. It climbed 12.3 per cent after the bus and coach manufacturer announced a battery recall agreement with XALT Energy.

On Wall Street, the Nasdaq recovered to close higher while the S&P 500 and the Dow closed lower, impacted by declines in health care and energy stocks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 302.30 points, or 0.62 per cent, to 48,114.26, the S&P 500 lost 16.25 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 6,800.26 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 54.05 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 23,111.46.